Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: September 22, 2019
By: Laura Deni
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YANKEE DOODLE DANDY IS A STAR SPANGLED DELIGHT

Defiant, spirited, inspiring - the perfect selection to get you out of bed in a good mood or use as exercise music. Yankee Doodle Dandy has been released on Broadway Records.

Buy and enjoy.

The life and times of legendary showman George M. Cohan explode into the 21st century in this new musical set against the colorful backdrop of "old Broadway," Yankee Doodle Dandy is the story of a of a brash, and rebellious kid who grabbed the American Dream and almost single-handedly invented the Broadway musical. From the hard-knock days of his family's adventures on the vaudeville circuit to his reign as the star-spangled "King of Broadway," George M. Cohan's life was a roller coaster ride of professional highs, lows, personal triumphs and heartbreak. With classic Cohen songs including and new songs inspired by unfinished Cohan melodies, Yankee Doodle Dandy presents a fresh, contemporary view of a musical theater icon who has influenced every musical on Broadway today. Music and Lyrics by George M. Cohan, New Music and Lyrics by Albert Evans, Songs we all know and love: Give My Regards to Broadway, You're a Grand, Old Flag, Harrigan, 45 Minutes From Broadway and Yankee Doodle Dandy.

Greg Allen as Jerry Cohan - Cynthia Ferrer as Nellie Cohan - Billie Wildrick as Josie Cohan - Eric Ankrim as George M. Cohan - Cayman Ilika as Ethel Levy - Jenny Shotwell as Alice Nolin - Corinna Munter as Agnes Nolin - James A. Rocco as old Lou and David Allen Jones as old George.

Pick Up Your Dreams and Go is poignant, good advise from Ethel (Seattle 5th Avenue veteran Caymen Ilika). It's heart wrenching when the now old George admits that he has: "A wife I don't love; kids I barely know and the only friend I ever really had I didn't talk to for 20 years."

A rousing stage musical based upon the hit 1942 movie musical starring James Cagney. For decades attempts have been made to mount this stage production, which for reasons which have nothing to do with the enjoyment if the show, the productions flopped. Today's political attitude may not lend itself to a stage show but the music is fabulous and that is what this recording is all about.

The sound is so crisp that you can hear the taps on shoes worn by Cynthia Ferrer and James A Rocco who also produced the album..

Evans' arrangements, and Ed Cionek & Patti Wyss' orchestrations are superb. "Yankee Doodle Dandy! The New George M. Cohan Musical - Studio Cast Recording Orchestra:
Keyboards: Marjorie Poe, Julie Lsmqureux - Violin- James Saunders: Cello Oliver Walton Bass Carlos Rivera - Drums Tom Zygmont - Percussion Steve Hernandez - Flute, Piccolo, Clarninet and Alto Sax David Catalan - Oboe, flute, clarinet, tenor sax Will Vargas - Clarinet, flute, bass clarinet Bari Sax Stephan Cardenas - trombones Takako Cardenas, Charles lLilly - Trumpets: Vinney Dwson, Cameron Ghahremani, Brad Black - Virginia Whestler: Paul Hansen. Tap Dancers: Cynthia Ferrer and James A Rocco.

Recorded and mastered by Timothy Jaquette Citrus College Recording Studio Glendora, CA. Vocals recorded by Dave Pascal at Pascal Studios in Seattle, Washington.

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ART AND ABOUT

TRAGEDY & TRIBUTE: ART ILLUMINATES IRELAND'S GREAT HUNGER (1845-1849) in which an estimated 1 million people in Ireland died of hunger and another 1 million emigrated from the country, is the subject of an exhibition at the Human Rights Institute Gallery at Kean University. The art featured in Tragedy & Tribute: Art Illuminates Ireland’s Great Hunger is on loan from Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac University. The works were created by eminent Irish and Irish-American artists of the last two centuries.

“The experience of Irish immigrants parallels that of refugees coming to the United States today,” said Lauretta Farrell, D.Litt, director of the Human Rights Institute at Kean University. “This exhibition helps inform us about the kinds of circumstances that drive people around the world to seek refuge in the United States.” An Opening Reception will be held on Wednesday, September 25 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Human Rights Institute Gallery. Speaking at the event will be Ryan Mahoney, the executive director of Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum and Christine Kinealy, Ph.D., founding director of Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.

The art installation will be on display through Friday, December 6, 2019.

The Human Rights Institute Gallery is located in the Nancy Thompson Learning Commons at Kean University, Union N.J.

THE FRALIN MUSEUM OF ART at the University of Virginia has announced that historically underrepresented artists will be a focus in at least half of its exhibitions moving forward. This action is the result of recent data showing that the majority of artists featured in U.S. museum exhibitions continue to lack diversity well into the 21st century. The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia, an iconic and distinguished university that continues to confront the truth and impact of its complicated past on its community, is uniquely positioned to take a stand. The museum defines underrepresented artists as those with diverse racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, Indigenous, disability/ability, socioeconomic, geographic, religious and/or age identities.

KATHERINE D. ALCAUSKAS named Chief Curator at the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She will begin her tenure on Sept. 23, and will be tasked with shaping the research, acquisition, management, display and interpretation of the museum’s unique permanent collection. She will also oversee an active exhibitions program that includes both traveling and in-house curated projects of all sizes.

Alcauskas received an M.A. in art history from Williams College, and has held curatorial positions at the Museum of Modern Art, Yale University Art Gallery and the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Her background in modern and contemporary works on paper is well suited to the Chazen, which is a repository for the renowned printmaking studio Tandem Press.

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SWEET CHARITY

THE MUSEUM OF ARTS & SCIENCES 9th ANNUAL PASSPORT GALA to be held on Friday, September 27, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida is sold out. Walk the red carpet as you enter the Museum's Train Station to enjoy an evening filled with prohibition era cocktails, a progressive dinner showcasing the Museum, and a comprehensive silent auction. Finish the evening with an exclusive performance by the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra as they present an evening of jazz inspired by Broadway and Hollywood.

The Museum of Arts & Sciences (MOAS) is the primary art, science and history museum in Central Florida. The area's largest museum, MOAS is nationally accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and is a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate. Located on a 90-acre Florida nature preserve, the 100,000 square foot facility is host to over 30,000 objects including the Dow Gallery of American Art, one of the finest collections of American art in the Southeast, the Schulte Gallery of Chinese Art, the Bouchelle Collection and Gallery of Decorative Arts, the largest and most comprehensive collection in the South, the Gillespy Gallery of Sub-Saharan African artifacts, the Cuban Foundation Museum showcasing one of the most significant collections of Cuban paintings in the United States, the Prehistory of Florida gallery featuring Florida's Giant Ground Sloth skeleton and the Root Family Museum displaying restored railroad cars, antique automobiles and the largest collection of Coca-Cola memorabilia in Florida.

KRISTIN CHENOWETH the Tony and Emmy award winner stars in the Fall Gala at the Ridgefield Playhouse on September 28. Located in Ridgefield, Connecticut, the playhouse celebrates its 19th anniversary season this year.

A night of Broadway classics, standards and pop hits.

Dinner, open bar & silent auction followed by live auction and show.

SPREADING THE WORD

STAR WARS FANS NOW HAVE THEIR OWN THEMED AIRCRAFT

The Star Wars plane. Photo: LATAM

LATAM Airlines Group unveiled the first image of its Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge-inspired aircraft, following the August 29, 2019 opening of the new land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. The ‘Stormtrooper Plane’, a Boeing 777 with capacity for 410 passengers, was designed by Disney’s creative team in conjunction with Lucasfilm, and was painted by using stencils. The aircraft is due to arrive in São Paulo/Guarulhos and operate its first commercial flight in October. LATAM Airlines Group will enable customers and fans to travel on an aircraft inspired by the stormtroopers of the First Order from the airline group’s São Paulo/Guarulhos hub to Orlando, where Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is based, as well as other international destinations including Miami and European cities such as Madrid, Frankfurt and Paris.

LATAM Airlines Group is Latin America’s leading airline group employing over 41,000 people worldwide, operating approximately 1,300 flights per day and transporting 69 million passengers per year, with one of the largest route networks in the world, offering services to 143 destinations in 25 countries, including six domestic markets in Latin America – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru – in addition to international operations in Latin America, Europe, the United States, the Caribbean, Oceania, Africa and Asia.

MINI TALK SHOW REVIEWS: Kelli Clarkson delightful, refreshing and entertaining. Lilly Sighn the first bisexual woman and the first woman of color (she grew up in Canada with immigrant parents from India) to host an evening talk show is a total pro who can hold her own against any of them. She's formidable and the show is entertaining. Sighn, who eschews talking politics, proves you don't need a nightly monologue about politics to fill time or grab ratings. The Mel Robbins Show a poor man's Dr. Phil is shallow and boring. Drew Barrymore going to launch a daytime talk show, according to increasingly stronger drum beats. No reason to believe she won't be a success.

NEW YORK SHAKESPEARE EXCHANGE has announced the World Premiere staged reading of The Card Play a new theatrical experiment by Shane Breaux and Kevin Brewer in partnership with the 53rd Street Library takes place Tuesday, September 24, 2019.

The Card Play, co-written by Shane Breaux and Kevin Brewer, explores the power and fallibility of memory by following Mark, a painter, through the twists and turns of his life. At each performance, the order of his memories is randomly arranged by the shuffle of a deck of cards, creating for a unique experience for each and every audience. The randomized style of the performance allows for more than 469 million versions of the play and invites the audience to experience, alongside the actors, a palpable sense of how memories appear and disappear throughout our lives.

The cast includes Vince Gatton, Erin Treadway, Joel Oramas, and Jay Ben Markson. The reading is directed by Ross Williams.

The event is free, but reservations are strongly encouraged.

IAMA THEATRE COMPANY has invited six up-and-coming Los Angeles playwrights to participate in its newly minted “Under 30 Playwrights Lab.” The inaugural group includes Laura Donney, Max Friedlich, Ken Greller, Madeline Hendricks, Nicholas Pilapil and Adriana Santos, each of whom will be in residence at IAMA for the entire 2019-20 season. “In this, the program’s inaugural year, IAMA continues its mission of fostering young, hip, and modern storytelling by supporting a group of six emerging playwrights under the age of 30,” says Stefanie Black, the company’s co-artistic director along with Katie Lowes. “IAMA has been dedicated to developing new plays and musicals since 2007. With the Under 30 Playwrights Lab, we offer an artistic home for the next generation of L.A.-based playwrights.”

Over the course of the year-long residency, the writers will meet on a monthly basis to share and develop their work in a peer-guided format led by Under 30’s Max Friedlich. Members of the Lab will be also given dramaturgical support from the artistic and literary staff at IAMA, as well as a ticket to each of IAMA's mainstage productions. The Lab will culminate in either a reading or workshop of each member's work.

QUEENSLAND THEATER COMPANY CHAIR ELIZABETH JAMESON has announced that the new Artistic Director for the company will be the current Artistic Director and CEO of Griffin Theatre Company, Lee Lewis. “Next year we will celebrate 50 years of being Queensland Theatre: we’ve consolidated the Company as the national home of new stories, we will stage the theatrical event of the year in the world premiere of Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe adapted for the stage by Tim McGarry, and we will welcome Lee Lewis as Artistic Director, taking over from Sam Strong who leaves this company in extraordinary shape,” she said.

Lee Lewis will begin with the Queensland, Australia Theatre in January 2020.

DUBLIN THEATRE FESTIVAL 2019 will present 18 days and nights of exceptional theatre at more than twenty venues all around the city. We have exciting Irish work from Michael Keegan-Dolan and Teac Da?sa, Marina Carr, Dermot Bolger, ANU, Druid, Fishamble, Rough Magic, the Abbey Theatre, the Gate Theatre, and Dylan Tighe, as well as inspiring international projects by artists from Australia, Belgium, Estonia, Portugal, the USA and England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The festival also includes an audio tour through 14 Henrietta Street, an installation at the Little Museum of Dublin, six work-in-progress performances, an engaging Theatre for Children program with The Ark, talks, critical events and much more. Sept 24 - October 13, 2019.

OPEN HOUSE AT THE SEATTLE OPERA CENTER takes place on Saturday, September 28, 2019.

The open house will feature performances by Seattle Opera artists, Q+A sessions with their new General Director Christina Scheppelmann, a peek into the Costume Shop, a props show-and-tell, a look at the wig-making process, and a working rehearsal of Rossini's Cinderella. There will also be crafts and costume try-ons for youth, as well as a live broadcast from Classical KING FM 98.1. Performances and activities will be ongoing, and admission is free.

DUCHESS KATE FEEDS THE BEES If Mary Poppins sang about feeding the birds, Duchess Kate is touting feeding the bees. The Duchess of Cambridge has lent her support to a youth-based campaign that aims to help save the bee population. Backyard UK has launched a new campaign called Save the Bees Mission to encourage young people to help the bee population. According to Backyard UK, young people have a mission “to feed the bees where you live by planting wildflower seedballs. You can get involved where you live – seedballs can be planted in a garden, pot or window box.”

“Did you know bees are critical to the food we eat? They give life to produce like peas, tomatoes and strawberries,” Backyard UK’s website states. “In fact, our supermarket shelves would look very different indeed in a world without bees. That’s why we need to take urgent action to help them!”

Backyard UK is offering over 330,000 free seedballs. Once young people plant their seedballs, they’re encouraged to track the growth on social media using the hashtag #BackyardNature. If young people aren’t able to get to a grocery store to pick up their seedball or to make their own, Backyard UK has tips on how to create “insect hotels” and tips on how to care for bees.

“Bees are an integral part of our ecosystem and provide a vital pollination service to UK crops,” said Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation trustee and Iceland managing director Richard Walker. “These wonderful creatures are quickly disappearing and they are in desperate need of more places to live and eat.”

When BackyardUK launched back in the summer, Kate lent her support to the organisation, saying that, “Spending time in nature can play a pivotal role in helping children grow to become happy, healthy adults. “I hope the Backyard Nature campaign inspires children, families and communities to get outside and engage with nature, wherever they live.”

The mother of three recently helped release seeds helping the organization to plant 15 million seeds in the UK to halt the sharp decline in the bee population. Her younger brother James is an avid bee keeper with 10 hives. Back in 2012 it was reporter that one of the ways the wife of Prince William always stays looking so gorgeous is because she uses a bee venom facial.

TOPPING THE THEATRICAL PRODUCTION CHARTS

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), has released its annual lists of the Top 10 Most-Produced Plays and Top 20 Most-Produced Playwrights for the new season. Based on the 2019-20 seasons reported by 387 TCG’s Member Theatres, these lists omit holiday-themed shows as well as works by Shakespeare.

This year’s 14 most-produced plays include works by 7 female playwrights and 6 male playwrights, while the 22 most-produced playwrights comprises 12 women and 10 men. What’s more, there are 6 playwrights of color on the most-produced playwrights’ list, tying with last year for the most racially diverse it’s ever been. Larissa FastHorse (Sicangu Lakota) is the first Native American/Indigenous playwright with a play on the Most Produced Plays list.

TOP 10 MOST PRODUCED PLAYS OF 2019-20 (14 due to ties)
A Doll's House, Part 2 by Lucas Hnath 12
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Simon Stephens 12
Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan, with Jonny Donahoe 10
Bright Star by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell 9
Pipeline by Dominique Morisseau 9
Tiny Beautiful Things by Nia Vardalos 8
Admissions by Joshua Harmon 8
Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee 8
School Girls or, The African Mean Girls Play by Jocelyn Bioh 8
The Children by Lucy Kirkwood 8
The Great Leap by Lauren Yee 8
The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse 8
The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe 8
Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express by Ken Ludwig 8

TOP 20 MOST PRODUCED PLAYWRIGHTS OF 2019-20 (22 due to ties)
Lauren Gunderson 33
Lauren Yee 18
Lucas Hnath 17
Tennessee Williams 17
Dominique Morisseau 16
Karen Zacarias 15
Ken Ludwig 15
August Wilson 15
Joshua Harmon 13
Simon Stephens 13
Neil Simon 13
Margot Melcon 12
Duncan Macmillan 11
Kate Hamill 11
Lynn Nottage 11
Quiara Alegria Hudes 11
Sarah Ruhl 10
Paula Vogel 10
Jen Silverman 9
Steve Martin 9
Lucy Kirkwood 9
Steven Dietz 9

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

FILM AND THEATRICAL PRODUCER MARC PLATT AND HIS WIFE JULIE have donated $1 million to MCC Theater, a major Off Broadway not-for-profit companies, for the development and production of new musicals, MCC announced today.

Named for Marc Platt’s late, theater-loving uncle, The Gary Platt Musical Initiative begins immediately during the 2019-20 season. The initiative will support new musicals over the course of five programming seasons.

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JULIE ANDREWS will be honored with American Film Institute Life Achievement Award at the April 25, 2020 gala.

“Julie Andrews is practically perfect in every way,” gushed AFI board of trustees chair Kathleen Kennedy. “Her talents across time have inspired a shared sense of joy across generations, and her gifts to our cultural heritage are a testament to the power of this art form to bring us together when we need it most.” Andrews won an Academy Award for the 1964 classic Mary Poppins, received two more Oscar nominations — the following year for The Sound of Music and for 1982's Victor/Victoria. She also has five Golden Globes, three Grammys, two Emmys, three Tony nominations, a Kennedy Center Honors Award and the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award.

At one time she had a nightclub act starring at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

The 83-year-old actress will become one of the oldest AFI Life Achievement Award recipients. Lillian Gish was 90 when she was honored in 1984 and Mel Brooks was 86 at his 2013 minting.

Andrews has remained current appearing as Queen Clarisse in The Princess Diaries films and as ogress Fiona’s mother Queen Lillian in the Shrek series. Andrews also has joined the cast of Shonda Rhimes’ upcoming Netflix series Bridgerton.



SLAVE PLAY written by Jeremy O. Harris.

Directed by Robert O’Hara.

Slave Play stars Ato Blankson-Wood, James Cusati-Moyer, Sullivan Jones, Joaquina Kalukango, Chalia La Tour, Irene Sofia Lucio, Annie McNamara, and Paul Alexander Nolan. The cast is being understudied by Eboni Flowers, Thomas Keegan, Jakeem Dante Powell, and Elizabeth Stahlmann.

The Old South lives on at the MacGregor Plantation — in the breeze, in the cotton fields...and in the crack of the whip. It’s an antebellum fever-dream, where fear and desire entwine in the looming shadow of the Master’s House. Jim trembles as Kaneisha handles melons in the cottage, Alana perspires in time with the plucking of Phillip’s fiddle in the boudoir, while Dustin cowers at the heel of Gary’s big, black boot in the barn. Nothing is as it seems, and yet everything is as it seems.

The creative team for the production includes Tony Award winner Clint Ramos (scenic design), four-time Drama Desk Award nominee Dede Ayite (costume design), Drama Desk Award nominee Jiyoun Chang (lighting design), three-time Drama Desk Award nominee Lindsay Jones (sound design and original music), Amauta Marston-Firmino (dramaturg), Byron Easley (movement), Drama Desk Award winner Claire Warden (intimacy and fight director), Doug Nevin (production counsel), and Taylor Williams (casting director).

In previews at the Golden Theatre in New York City.

SOFT POWER play and lyrics by David Henry Hwang, music and additional lyrics by Jeanine Tesori.

Choreography by Sam Pinkleton.

Directed by Leigh Silverman.

Tony Award winners David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori bring their groundbreaking new musical-within-a-play to The Public for its New York premiere. Soft Power is an exploration of America's current place in the world, told through an East-West musical from China's point of view, in which a theater producer from Shanghai forges a powerful bond with Hillary Clinton. Soft Power "is a fever dream of modern American politics amidst global conversations, asking us all—why do we love democracy? And should we?"

The complete cast includes Billy Bustamante (Xue Xing Standby), Jon Hoche (Tony Manero/Chief Justice/Hali Aòhala/Ensemble), Kendyl Ito (Jing/Lî Bìyù/Ensemble), Francis Jue (DHH), Austin Ku (Bobby Bob/Ju Míng), Raymond J. Lee (Randy Ray/Yáo Tuo/VEEP/Ensemble), Alyse Alan Louis (Zoe/Hillary), Jaygee Macapugay (Campaign Manager/Lóng Lín Kun//Ensemble), Daniel May (Ensemble), Paul HeeSang Miller (Ensemble), Kristen Faith Oei (Ensemble), Geena Quintos (Ensemble), Conrad Ricamora (Xue Xing), Trevor Salter (Ensemble), Kyra Smith (Ensemble), Emily Stillings (Swing), Emily Trumble (Zoe/Hillary Standby), and John Yi (Swing).

Performances begin on Tuesday, September 24 in The Public’s Newman Theater in New York City.

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This is not your typical, totally boring textbook.

In the pages of How To Earn A Living As A Freelance Writer (the first to be lied to and the last to be paid) you'll find sex, celebrities, violence, threats, unethical editors, scummy managers and lawyers, treacherous press agents, sex discrimination; as well as a how-to for earning money by writing down words.

WHO'S WHERE

THE WHO singing their hits September 18 in Atlanta, GA at the State Farm Arena. Friday's show is in Ft. Lauderdale, FL at the BB&T Center. Next Sunday, September 22, they're on stage in Tampa, FL at the Amalie Arena.

ALICE COOPER the rock icon performs at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark on September 25 as part of his ‘Ol Black Eyes is Back’ tour.

CARRIE UNDERWOOD is on stage Tuesday, September 24, at the American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX. On Wednesday her tour stops at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK. Friday's show is at the Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN. Next Sunday, September 29, she headlines the Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, SC.

SMITHSONIAN JAZZ MASTERWORKS ORCHESTRA EVENING CONCERT - JAZZ FROM BROADWAY TO HOLLYWOOD The neon lights of Broadway and the Silver Screen have both played enormous roles in the history of the development of jazz. The primary source for music played by jazz musicians has traditionally come from movies and musicals. Join the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra at MOAS for jazz performances inspired by Broadway and Hollywood. Featured musicians include Tom Williams on trumpet, Tony Nalker on piano, James King on bass, SJMO artistic director, Charlie Young on alto saxophone, and SJMO executive producer, Ken Kimery on drums. Saturday, September 28, Museum of Arts & Sciences in Daytona Beach, Florida.

FINAL OVATION

COKIE ROBERTS three time Emmy winner, veteran journalist, political commentator and author, died, Tuesday, September 17, 2019 from complications of a two decade battle with breast cancer. She was 75.

She was a member of the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame and was named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress.

She was also the author of a half-dozen books, with her latest - Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868 - detailing the roles of prominent women in our nation’s capital across those two decades.

Regarded as a pioneer in the journalism industry, she worked for several of the nation's top news outlets over the years and spent the past three decades with ABC News. "Cokie had a storied career over 40 years in television, public radio and publishing," ABC News President James Goldston said in a letter to the news division. "A true pioneer for women in journalism, Cokie was well-regarded for her insightful analysis of politics and policy in Washington, DC, countless newsmaking interviews, and, notably, her unwavering support for the generations of young women - and men - who would follow her in her footsteps."

She was born as Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs on Dec. 27, 1943, in New Orleans. She became Cokie when her brother Thomas had trouble pronouncing “Corrine.” Her father Hale Boggs served in Congress for more than 30 years before his plane disappeared in bad weather on a campaign flight to Alaska. Despite a 39-day search, none of the wreckage nor the victims were ever located. Her mother Lindy Boggs replaced him in the House and served 17 years, later stepping into the post of U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.

Roberts is survived by her husband of 53 years, journalist Steven Roberts, her two children and six grandchildren.

RIC OCASEK frontman of the Boston-based band The Cars, who defined a rock era with chart-topping hits was discovered dead Sunday, September 15, 2019 by his estranged third wife in his Manhattan townhouse where he had been recovering from surgery. The Chief Medical Examiner office reported that Ocasek died from natural causes. He suffered from both hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. He was 75.

He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and songwriter for the rock band the Cars. In 2018, Ocasek was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Cars.

Ocasek was married three times. His first wife Constance divorced him in Ohio in 1971] In the same year he married Suzanne Otcasek, who uses the original spelling of Ocasek's name. They were married for 17 years. During filming of the music video for the Cars' song "Drive" in 1984, Ocasek met 18-year-old supermodel Paulina Porizkova — while he was still married to Suzanne. Ocasek and Suzanne divorced in 1988. He and Porizkova were married on August 23, 1989 on Saint-Barthélemy island. In May 2018, Porizkova announced she and Ocasek had separated a year earlier.

Ocasek had six sons, two from each of his three marriages. His eldest son, Christopher (b. 1964), is a singer who formed the rock group Glamour Camp which released one album in 1989, and appeared as a solo artist in the film Pretty Woman (1990). His other children include Adam (b. 1970), Eron (b. 1973),[36] Derek (b. 1981), Jonathan Raven (b. 1993), and Oliver (b. 1999).

BETTY CORWIN a longtime Outer Critics Circle member and the founder of the Theater on Film and Tape Archive at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, died September 10 at her home in Weston, Connecticut. She was 98.

Betty was honored with a Special Tony Award in 2001 for her contributions to the industry, and also received special Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, and Obie Awards, among many others, for her determination to preserve as much theater as possible. She began her career as a script reader in a theatrical office and married Henry Corwin, a dermatologist, in 1943, eventually moving with him first to Westport, Conn., and then to Weston. She helped establish a progressive bookshop in Westport and volunteered in the psychiatric emergency room of Jacobi Hospital in the Bronx.

The Theater on Film and Tape Archive was her baby inspired by a suggestion from her sister-in-law Helen Harvey, a theatrical agent at the William Morris Agency who thought Betty should tape and preserve Broadway shows for posterity. The constantly growing TOFT now holds over 8,127 recordings, including artist interviews and theater-related films and television programs - has long been a major resource for artists, students and researchers. Actors can research a role, directors find inspiration, journalists discover context - all made possible by Corwin.

Corwin became the archive’s director and tenacious fund-raiser, and remained so until she stepped down in 2000 at 80 succeeded by Patrick Hoffman.

Corwin also founded that League of Professional Theater Women’s Oral History Project, which she produced for 26 years.

Her husband died in 2006. She is survived by her daughter, Pamela, sons John and Tom, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Next Column: September 29, 2019
Copyright: September 22, 2019 All Rights Reserved. Reviews, Interviews, Commentary, Photographs or Graphics from any Broadway To Vegas (TM) columns may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, utilized as leads, or used in any manner without permission, compensation and/or credit.
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Laura Deni

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